INDIANAPOLIS – Mike Braun’s campaign has had a whirlwind 48 hours. Less than two days after delegates rejected his pick for LG at the State Convention, a leaked memo from the law office of Jim Bopp, first reported on Sunday evening by Adam Wren of IMPORTANTVILLE, shows the internal scrambling Republicans are doing over Micah Beckwith’s victory.
Bopp’s memo shows the danger that Beckwith poses to Braun’s candidacy, and lists multiple negatives of having Beckwith on the ticket. From the memo:
“However, as I will explain, the Democrats have a real opportunity to launch a serious
campaign in the fall because of Beckwith’s nomination, and it has already begun. We can look to the Trump primary results in Indiana to see the danger here. Trump got 78% of the Republican primary vote and Haley got 22%. Now there is very good reason to think that 10 to 12% of that vote were Democrats, leaving 10% of Republican not convinced to support Trump. And added to the fact that Braun only got 40% of the Republican primary vote and Rainwater will be on the ballot to drain off some conservative votes, it is perfectly plausible that 8% of Diego’s general election vote could be pealed (sic) away by a vigorous campaign by the Democrats targeting Beckwith, as I will explain, and Braun loses.
This makes the general election very dicey.”
“The Bopp memo shows that even the lawyer who wrote Indiana’s draconian abortion ban thinks that Micah Beckwith’s views are out of the mainstream. Beckwith’s absurd views have Republicans scrambling, and rightfully so. His presence on the ticket shows how far the Indiana GOP has gone to appease the most extreme members of its base at the expense of the majority of Hoosiers,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl.
“As we move toward November, Hoosiers deserve to hear and see all of the outlandish claims Beckwith has made and his views on the issues of the day. He is not remotely qualified to step into the Statehouse, let alone be next in line to be governor, and the Bopp memo outlines the real danger he poses to their ticket and our state’s future.
“Jennifer McCormick has the experience to be a leader for all Hoosiers from day one, and her administration will put Hoosiers’ freedoms and their hard work first. She’ll support our local schools, and reject divisive extremism. We need a governor who will build an Indiana for everyone – not fringe or extreme politicians who want to send Indiana into the Stone Age.”
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